With the advent of the Internet and online electronic commerce (e-commerce), financial transaction programs that allow users to seamlessly purchase products, transfer funds and conduct transactions over an Internet connection have been in high demand.
Traditional methods of executing financial transactions have been limited to a user providing his or her credit card, debit card, or checking account number on a commercial website, or using checks, money orders and other forms of paper-based payments. However, these means of executing financial transactions are often cumbersome, slow, and inconvenient, requiring a user to remember a multitude of account numbers, login data and passwords. This often results in significant time delays for payment processing. Furthermore, security and fraud concerns are prevalent. For instance, a user is often reluctant to provide sensitive credit card or debit card information over an Internet connection, regardless of how “secure” an Internet connection claims to be.
Recent financial transaction programs have emerged as a means for a user to pay for purchases, transfer money, receive money (if the user is a merchant), store shipping addresses, and set up multiple financial accounts (e.g. checking or savings, credit card, debit card) all with one single login and password. Security and fraud concerns are also mitigated by means of online financial security precautions, encryption methods, and anti-phishing programs that are inherent in online, Internet-based financial transaction systems.
However, many of these financial transaction programs are limited in that users are dependent on a computer with Internet access, or a WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) enabled cell phone to access the Internet, in order to go to a central website page, access their account and then execute transactions such as paying for purchases or transferring money.
Therefore, there is need for a method that enables a user to access their financial transaction program account without having to depend on a computer with Internet access or a WAP-enabled cellphone. One solution that is independent of an Internet connection is a telephone-based system equipped with Interactive Voice Response (IVR) capabilities, a technology that detects voice and touch tones of a normal phone call. If a user is able to access his or her financial transaction program account with a simple phone call and by speaking voice instructions and by pressing numbers on a phone's keypad, then a user does not need to rely on Internet connections, computers or a WAP-enabled cellphone.
Furthermore, using a telephone-based system connected to an online financial transaction program enables a customer to make purchases at a store or restaurant without having to carry around a wallet or credit cards, and provides a user with a convenient and instantaneous method to transfer funds to others. Such a telephone-based system essentially serves as a “mobile wallet” that does not require a customer to physically carry around a plurality of credit cards and account numbers.
However, there are a number of security concerns associated with accessing sensitive financial information over the phone. For instance, passwords may be limited only to numbers on a keypad, and cannot likely be encrypted. However, other effective phone-based security methods such as voice-verification associated with IVR technology or IVR coupled with software associated with the financial transaction program may be used. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a telephone-based method that enables a user to access his or her online financial transaction program account safely and securely and in a convenient fashion.